This invention relates to a braille label writer with which even a sighted person who does not have knowledge of braille can easily inscribe braille on a label.
The range of activities of visually impaired people is now gradually increasing, and the opportunities for them to go into public places are increasing more and more. Under these circumstances, it is necessary for them to handle, for example, vending machines for train tickets, tobacco, beverages, meal tickets, etc. This means that those vending machines must be modified so that visually impaired people can use them. Similarly, banks or post offices are required to employ means for aiding and enabling visually impaired people to operate cash dispensers.
As described above, to support an increasing activity range of visually impaired people, it is necessary to modify devices and goods required for everyday life and handled by sighted people, so that visually impaired people can handle them in a similar manner to the sighted people. To this end, it is necessary to display, using braille, the names or prices of everyday goods or instructions for handling them, as well as information put on the aforementioned vending machines. Moreover, it is desirable that the contents of bankbooks for visually impaired people be displayed using braille. In addition, where the range of activities of visually impaired people increases, and various types of braille displays are required for the same things as sighted people, prompt action to facilitate everyday life is required as well. In other words, in light of the fact that, for example, the prices of train tickets or everyday goods are changed in a relatively short time, it is necessary to promptly inform visually impaired people of the price changes. Accordingly, in the near future, price labelling using braille needs to be performed at individual stores in many cases. However, at the present stage, there is no system that satisfies such a demand in the near future.
Japanese Patent Application KOKOKU Publication No. 3-9863, for example, discloses a conventional braille input device for recording and outputting the names or prices of goods using braille. This device, however, has its operation manner adapted for visually impaired people, and hence is not appropriate for anyone who does not have knowledge of braille. As a device which can be handled by sighted people, a device is known, which comprises a personal computer and a braille printer, and in which a usual letter input by sighted people is converted into braille using braille converting software. Since this usual-letter/braille converting device is formed at present by combining a general-purpose personal computer and a braille printer, it inevitably has a large size and is expensive, which means that it is not suitable for practical use in society in general.
Also, in the conventional braille printer, the plunger of its solenoid is coaxial with its push pin, and printing is performed while the solenoid itself is moved. Thus, the printer requires mechanisms for moving and positioning the solenoid and a mechanism for controlling them, resulting in a high cost.